European History Commons^™

Danish Churches And Congregations In Indianapolis, 1868-1885, Barbara R. George

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A look at the population make-up of Indianapolis and Indiana during the time period from the end of the Civil War (approximately 1865) until the 1880s shows that the Danes had little impact in the relatively small Indiana immigration picture. Indiana was less influenced by foreign born than any other northern state. Although ranking ninth in the number of German-born residents in 1880, Indiana ranked thirteenth in the number of foreign born, and was sixth in total population. As a state it was not particularly aggressive in promoting itself as a viable destination for immigrants, and ranked only in front …

Three Tales Of Two Towns: How Fano Entered The Golden Age Of Sail, Anne Ipsen

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Fano is a magical island off the west coast of Denmark, justly famous for its endless white beach along the North Sea. Towering dunes, whose slopes are covered in lyme grass, ring the center of the island where the heath is home to an abundance of creatures and plants. The colors of the sky and water, the heather and grass change in rhythm with the seasons. The solid houses of the two towns, Nordby to the north and Sonderho at the southern tip, bear witness to the wealth brought home from the seven seas by generations of seamen sailing their …

Danish Nobel Laureates In Literature With Special Emphasis On Johannes V. Jensen, Erik M. Christensen

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Religion, Philosophy, and Art are related. Sometimes more than other. They are so much in family, in fact, that they are able to become one. This may even happen without being intended or even realized, but we also have, in Western civilization, instances where the artist very clearly meant his work to represent a unity of Religion, Philosophy, and Art. The greatest known instance of this is, of course, Dante Alighieri's poem La Divina Commedia (ca. 13071320), the story of his wandering through Purgatory, down to Hell, and up to Paradise where his ideal love for Beatrice allows him to …

Gunnar Johansen: The Gentlemanly Dane, Solon Pierce

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It is about three score and five years ago now since a certain Dane came to Dane County, Wisconsin-a decisive step, he later recounted on many occasions, "that I have never regretted." To this native Midwestern observer, it was a perfect fit. There was something homespun and authentic in the nature of the man -a sense that he was cut from the same cloth.

Christian Petersen: From Denmark To The New Deal To Campus Sculptor, Lea Rosson Delong

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Christian Petersen (1885-1961) was a Danish-American sculptor (Figure 1) whose accomplishment and importance in the history of American art is being increasingly understood and recognized.1 The first goal in this presentation is to present a small portion of his work and to discuss why his reputation is growing and, at the same time, weave in aspects of his Danish background.

Gyde-Petersen, A Skagen Artist In America, John Robert Christianson

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Mankato, Minnesota, was thrilled. A famous artist had come to town with his palette, easel, and painter's smock, and people noticed. The Mankato Free Press ran a story under a bold headline:

Sir Gyde Pedersen, Artist of Denmark

The reporter gushed away for two columns on the delight of having in their midst a European artist who had been knighted by a king.1

Anton Kvist Danish-American Poet: His Life And His Works, Birgit Flemming Larsen

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Anton Kvist was born in 1878 in a small village in the northern part of Jutland in Denmark. In his home at Valsted there was a large group of ten siblings, and already as a six year old boy Anton had to work as a shepherd boy at the same time as he started to go to school. His father was a bricklayer, and so were a few of his brothers. At the age of sixteen he followed the family tradition and became a bricklayer's apprentice. In 1898 he came to Copenhagen to work as a bricklayer. Here in 1900 …

Of Two Women In Scandinavian-American Immigrant Literature, Mikael Engelstoft Hansen

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Neither politics nor traditional history has ever spelled much interest to me. But then I read in Hilde Petra Brungot's dissertation1 on Dorthea Dahl (1881-1958)2 of this Lutheran Norwegian-American immigrant writer being an outspoken Republican.

Hans Christian Andersen Stories, Lisa Kramme

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During her presentation at the international conference "Danish Culture, Past and Present: The Last Two Hundred Years," Lisa Kramme shared the following stories by Hans Christian Andersen: "The Princess on the Pea," "The Old Man Is Always Right," and "The Little Match Girl." She also shared several tales of the famous people of Mols, but passed them off as stories about her relatives in Denmark.

Appendix C.

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No abstract provided.

Karin Michaelis: Famous Danish Novelist And Humanitarian Rebel With A Cause, Merete Von Eyben

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Consider the following question: Which Danish author was not only one of the most famous European authors in the early part of the twentieth century, but also one of the most widely read female ones; had all of her books translated into German and some of them into as many as 30 other languages; wrote the most notorious bestseller of that period; celebrated her 60th birthday at a banquet hosted by Austrian PEN in Vienna where she was awarded both an Austrian and a Czechoslovakian medal and honored by the German language papers as Europe's Conscience; had her books banned …

Front Matter

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No abstract provided.

Dealing With The "Third Enemy": English-Language Learning And Native-Language Maintenance Among Danish Immigrants In Utah, 1850-1930, Lynn Henrichsen, George Bailey, Jacob Huckaby

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In the latter half of the nineteenth century, over 22,000 Scandinavians joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter referred to as the church or the LDS church) and migrated to Utah.1 Well over half of these Scandinavians, 12,350 (not including children age 12 and under), were Danes.2

This influx of people who spoke a language other than English and came from a cultural background different from that of the original Anglo-American settlers of Utah presented some perplexing challenges. Even Brigham Young, the territorial governor and LDS church president, found them difficult to resolve. According to local folklore, …

Whose Memory Is It After All?, Inger M. Olsen

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The EU (European Union) constitution was issued May 2005 and its preamble states that the writers have "let themselves be inspired by Europe's cultural, religious and humanistic inheritance which is the foundation for the development of the universal values: the individual human being's inviolable and inalienable rights as well as freedom, equality and constitutional state"1 2 The preamble goes on to mention the painful experiences that Europe has undergone and the fact that Europe is once again united. The final note states that Europe "wishes to develop further the public life's democratic and open character and work for peace, justice …

Preface

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No abstract provided.

Contents

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Foreword, Helle Mathiasen

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Since its founding in 1977, the Danish American Heritage Society (DAHS) has encouraged and supported efforts to research and preserve our ethnic heritage in Canada and the United States. The Society believes in the intrinsic value of building bridges between ideas and people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. An additional goal is the promotion of fellowship among those with an interest in events relating to Danish life, culture, and history.

Karen Blixen: The Quintessential Dane, Linda G. Donelson

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The year 2005 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen and the 150th anniversary of the death of Soren Kierkegaard. It also is the 120th anniversary of Karen Blixen' s birth in 1885, and it is appropriate to talk about her at this conference. For the millions of Americans who have seen the movie Out of Africa, she may be the most famous Dane of all. We often imagine Karen Blixen as personified by Meryl Streep in the movie. But if you have read the book Out of Africa, you may rather think of Karen Blixen …

The Greater Challenge: Staying Home Or Emigrating?, Inger Wiehl

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This presentation poses the challenge of emigrating versus that of staying home, exemplified by a Southern Jutlander who stayed home during the years of Prussian rule between 1864 and 1920 and one who left for America during those years. It begs the larger question of who endures more, those who leave or those who stay behind, a salient issue underlying all emigration and any significant parting. Put in classical terms: Who faces the greater challenge Odysseus or Penelope? He endures any number of dangers on his way back from Troy; she stays by her loom and keeps home intact for …

Culture For Sale In Solvang, California: A Little Bit Of Denmark, Disney, Or Something Else?, Hanne Pico Larsen

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Danish educators coming from a Danish settlement in the Midwest founded Solvang in 1911. During the first 20 years or so, Solvang looked like an average Pacific Coast American town - but underneath lurked Danish, Grundtvigian values and philosophy. Little by little, the picture changed. After World War II, many original buildings representing these Danish values, such as a Folk High School and an assembly hall, even if not particularly Danish looking, were demolished in order to provide space for new "Danish-style" buildings in the commercial center of town. A Danish-style architecture was introduced and since then, the town became …

The History Of Wind Technology In Denmark, James D. Iversen

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Wind--a phenomenon we do not always understand or pay much attention to, perhaps because we cannot see it, only its effects. And its effects can be devastating, such as the terrible destruction due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States in August and September, 2005. As a member of the American Association for Wind Engineering, I am aware of that organization's attempts to influence local government agencies in the southeastern coastal areas of the United States in the improvement of building codes so that buildings can better withstand the destructive power of the wind.

Grundtivigianism In America, Yesterday And Today, Thorvald Hansen

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It has been said, "In Denmark, everyone is a Grundtvigian whether he knows it or not." This certainly is not the case in America. Indeed, there are very few Grundtvigians in this country, and the prospects for increasing that number are very slight. This is not because the followers of Grundtvig have been "hiding their light under a bushel," but because the vast majority has not accepted it as light.

Opening Remarks, James Iversen

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Ladies and gentlemen, as president of the Danish American Heritage Society (DAHS), it is my great pleasure and privilege to bid all of you a very sincere velkommen to this, the third international conference on Danish Immigration to North America. There are approximately 420 people registered for this conference, representing 31 of the 50 United States, plus Washington, D.C., and Denmark. I think one of the remarkable aspects of this conference is that so many people are here from different sections of the country and also from Denmark who have not met each other before, so it is a wonderful …

Quest And Place In Carl Hansen And Hans Christian Andersen, David S. Iversen

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Carl Hansen and Hans Christian Andersen demonstrate a number of similar characteristics as authors. Both wrote their stories with their respective readership in mind. Both authors strove to establish character and setting with as few words as possible. Both knew their audiences well and made use of scenes, places, and experiences that their readers recognized. Each man was also driven to become an author, albeit for slightly different reasons. Hans Christian Andersen was, according to Sven H. Rossel, "single-minded in pursuit of art and recognition,"1 while Carl Hansen relates that "some five years before he emigrated to the United States …

Front Matter

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No abstract provided.

The Jean Hersholt Collection Of Anderseniana At The Library Of Congress, Kristi Johnson, Taru Spiegel

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Hans Christian Andersen was already well known in the United States during his lifetime. Though he wanted to meet his American admirers, fear of accidents at sea kept Andersen from crossing the Atlantic. Three quarters of a century after the author's death, another Dane ensured that a part of Andersen's legacy would remain permanently in America. The Danish American actor, author, and humanitarian, Jean Hersholt, together with his Danishborn wife, Via, donated a treasure trove of Anderseniana to the Library of Congress in 1951. The Library's preeminent collection of Scandinavian materials is often overlooked amidst the institution's 130 million items …

The Veil Between Fact And Fiction In The Novels Of Kristian Ostergaard, John Mark Nielsen

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The bicentennial of the births of Hans Christian Andersen and August de Bournonville and the 150th anniversary of the death of Soren Kierkegaard provide opportunity to reflect and celebrate how artists and philosophers interpret and express the complex network of values and ideas inherent in any culture. Great artists and thinkers are particularly successful in producing work that transcends a specific culture and achieves universality recognizable beyond the boundaries of that culture into which they were born. Certainly the works produced by Andersen, Bournonville, and Kierkgaard are not just Danish; their work engages and invites audiences to consider what it …

Between Patrons And Populace: Danish-American Sculptor Carl Rohl-Smith And The Iowa Soldiers' And Sailors' Monument In Des Moines, Aase Bak

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Carl Rohl-Smith (1848-1900) received one of his most important commissions in America with the "Iowa Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument" (completed 1897). But his position became difficult as he had to navigate between the different interests of patrons and general public.

"A Danish artist cannot imagine the hardships that being an artist in a foreign land entails. Most of the decisions concerning art are made by the populace." Thus wrote Danish journalist Henrik Cavling (1858-1933) in his travel book Fra Amerika (From America) from 1897.1 He was talking about the Danish-American sculptor Carl Rohl-Smith and the problems he encountered when he …

Danish Poets Today

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The Danish poet, playwright and novelist Pia Tafdrup read from her work Queen's Gate and presented some of her other poems at the session Danish Poets Today With the author's permission we are able to present one of the poems from Queen's Gate.

Back Cover

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No abstract provided.